Josemaria Toscano // Shutterstock
1 / 25#25. Grand Canyon National Park (Arizona)
- Distance: 977 miles
- Park area: 1,201,647.03 acres
National parks closest to Brown County, SD
After the hottest summer on record, it's a wonderful time to hit the great outdoors.
The United States is home to 63 national parks, from Yellowstone National Park to New River Gorge National Park and Preserve in West Virginia. The former, located in Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana, became the world's first national park in 1872 and includes 10,000 hydrothermal features; the latter is the newest national park and hosts the longest steel arch span in the Western Hemisphere. So, the country's park system encompasses something for everyone.
It's not surprising then that these scenic getaways have drawn millions of travelers every year. The National Park Service reported just shy of 312 million recreational visits last year, the most since 2019. Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina and Tennessee was by far the most popular national park, with 12.9 million visits. Grand Canyon (Arizona), Zion (Utah), Rocky Mountain (Colorado), and Acadia (Maine) rounded out the top five.
For park enthusiasts, more good news looks to be on the way. Congress is expected to add Georgia's Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park as the nation's 64th crown jewel before the end of the year. It'd be the first national park co-managed by a tribal group that was forcibly removed from its land and the first national park in Georgia. But others—including perhaps the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, Alaska's Tongass National Forest, and Chiricahua National Monument in Arizona—are vying for the honor.
Wondering where to go next that's not too far from home? Stacker compiled a list of the national parks closest to Brown County. Straight line distance from Brown County to each national park was used to determine the ranking. County coordinates from the Census Bureau and national park coordinates from NPS were used in the calculation.
When planning your next adventure, know your limits before you go, and check whether the park has regulations or requires permits or reservations. Create backup and emergency plans, and be aware of your surroundings when you arrive. NPS asks visitors to stay within designated areas, watch wildlife responsibly, and keep safety in mind. Animals should not be approached, harassed, touched, or fed, and children and pets must be supervised closely.
You may also like: Here's how much snow Brown County, South Dakota received in January
Galyna Andrushko // Shutterstock
2 / 25#24. Zion National Park (Utah)
- Distance: 950 miles
- Park area: 147,242.66 acres
Felix Lipov // Shutterstock
3 / 25#23. Petrified Forest National Park (Arizona)
- Distance: 947 miles
- Park area: 221,390.21 acres
Arlene Waller // Shutterstock
4 / 25#22. Great Basin National Park (Nevada)
- Distance: 933 miles
- Park area: 77,180.00 acres
ronnybas frimages // Shutterstock
5 / 25#21. Bryce Canyon National Park (Utah)
- Distance: 903 miles
- Park area: 35,835.08 acres
You may also like: Warmest Decembers in Brown County, South Dakota history
Zack Frank // Shutterstock
6 / 25#20. Cuyahoga Valley National Park (Ohio)
- Distance: 894 miles
- Park area: 32,571.88 acres
Wangkun Jia // Shutterstock
7 / 25#19. Mammoth Cave National Park (Kentucky)
- Distance: 858 miles
- Park area: 54,011.91 acres
Layne V. Naylor // Shutterstock
8 / 25#18. Capitol Reef National Park (Utah)
- Distance: 832 miles
- Park area: 241,904.50 acres
Zack Frank // Shutterstock
9 / 25#17. Hot Springs National Park (Arkansas)
- Distance: 813 miles
- Park area: 5,554.15 acres
Manamana // Shutterstock
10 / 25#16. Canyonlands National Park (Utah)
- Distance: 780 miles
- Park area: 337,597.83 acres
You may also like: Hottest months in Brown County, SD since 1895
Sopotnicki // Shutterstock
11 / 25#15. Mesa Verde National Park (Colorado)
- Distance: 778 miles
- Park area: 52,485.17 acres
Pung // Shutterstock
12 / 25#14. Glacier National Park (Montana)
- Distance: 757 miles
- Park area: 1,013,125.99 acres
Manamana // Shutterstock
13 / 25#13. Arches National Park (Utah)
- Distance: 745 miles
- Park area: 76,678.98 acres
SL-Photography // Shutterstock
14 / 25#12. Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park (Colorado)
- Distance: 682 miles
- Park area: 30,779.83 acres
Kris Wiktor // Shutterstock
15 / 25#11. Great Sand Dunes National Park (Colorado)
- Distance: 655 miles
- Park area: 107,341.87 acres
You may also like: Brown County, SD monthly unemployment update
Paul Brady Photography // Shutterstock
16 / 25#10. Gateway Arch National Park (Missouri)
- Distance: 637 miles
- Park area: 192.83 acres
Delmas Lehman // Shutterstock
17 / 25#9. Indiana Dunes National Park (Indiana)
- Distance: 626 miles
- Park area: 15,349.08 acres
Zack Frank // Shutterstock
18 / 25#8. Grand Teton National Park (Wyoming)
- Distance: 620 miles
- Park area: 310,044.36 acres
Lane V. Erickson // Shutterstock
19 / 25#7. Yellowstone National Park (Wyoming, Montana, Idaho)
- Distance: 600 miles
- Park area: 2,219,790.71 acres
Anna Krivitskaya // Shutterstock
20 / 25#6. Rocky Mountain National Park (Colorado)
- Distance: 518 miles
- Park area: 265,807.25 acres
You may also like: National parks closest to Brown County, SD
Canva
21 / 25#5. Isle Royale National Park (Michigan)
- Distance: 481 miles
- Park area: 571,790.30 acres
BlueBarronPhoto // Shutterstock
22 / 25#4. Voyageurs National Park (Minnesota)
- Distance: 328 miles
- Park area: 218,222.35 acres
Zack Frank // Shutterstock
23 / 25#3. Wind Cave National Park (South Dakota)
- Distance: 287 miles
- Park area: 33,970.84 acres
Laurens Hoddenbagh // Shutterstock
24 / 25#2. Theodore Roosevelt National Park (North Dakota)
- Distance: 266 miles
- Park area: 70,446.89 acres
Matt Ragen // Shutterstock
25 / 25#1. Badlands National Park (South Dakota)
- Distance: 242 miles
- Park area: 242,755.94 acres
This story features data reporting by Karim Noorani, writing by Mike Taylor, and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 3,119 counties.
You may also like: Food insecurity rates in Brown County, SD
